Propulsion device



June 8, 1965 A. Fox l 3,187,708

PRoPULsIoN DEVICE Filed June '7.v 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 `-f ze tINVENTOR. ANTHONY Fox Arran/ver:

Junes, 1965 A, Fox PRoP-.ULsIoN DEVICE Filed June 7, 19511l I 3Sheets-Sheesh FIG. l0

INV EN TOR.

F/G. 9 ANTHONY Fox @www gqrTakNe-YJ United States Patent Office3,187,708 Patented June 8, 1965 3,187,708 PRPULSION DEVICE Anthony Fox,Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Propulsion Research, Inc., Minneapolis,Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed .lune 7, 1961, Ser. No. 115,4636 Claims. (Cl. 11S-12) This invention is a propulsion unit for boatsthat supplants the gear box, propeller and rudder structure of a usualpower boat arrangement. It is believed to be novel in the particularconstruction of the housing in which the impeller and water controllingvanes are arranged in that the outside shell of the unit is very smoothand has a minimum of projections thereon which might engage and snag onobjects in the water. This streamlined construction is achieved in partby having portions of the housing that are normally secured together byanges being secured by threads instead. The forward and reversemechanism consists of a balanced deflector damper within the dischargenozzle which permits deflecting the water jet through forward or reverseports. Yet another novel point of construction in this jet propulsionunit is the manner of mounting it and the engine which drives it inclose-coupled arrangement on opposite sides of the transom of the boatso as to occupy a minimum of space both inside and outside and With thejet unit entirely outside of the boat hull. It is also believed novel inthis type of unit to have the pivoting steering arrangement held in by awear ring that establishes the position of the steering unit withthreaded stub shafts serving both to hold the wear ring in the housingand provide the pivots for steering. Also novel is the flared dischargenozzle which minimizes friction between the nozzle and water beingdischarged.

Water jet propulsion units for boats are not novel in themselves, butmany of the units that have been presented to the purchasing public areat least somewhat unsatisfactory in one or more of the followingrespects. They are frequently excessively long, heavy and expensive.They are often incapable of operating in a trouble free manner underconditions in which silt, sand and other smalll particles of hardmaterials are suspended in the water in which the craft is operating.The construction of some is such that they are ditlicult or impossibleto steer when reversed. Most of these units heretofore offered occupy asmuch or more space inside the boat as a comparable propeller drivingpower plant would. Most also require cutting holes in the bottom of thehull, thus weakening the same, and increasing the likelihood of failureas the result of high speed engine operation and the interaction of thehull with water, especially rough water.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide animproved jet propulsion unit for watercraft.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsion unitfor watercraft that can be mounted in close-coupled arrangement with anengine on opposite sides of the boat transom.

A further object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsion unitfor boats that is substantially trouble free regardless of theconditions under which it is operated.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsionunit for boats of simplified construction.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsion unitfor boats having relatively high water capacity but small outsidedimensions.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsionand engine unit for a boat in which the mounting flanges of thepropulsion unit and the engine cooperate to align the drive shaft of theengine with the impeller shaft of the propulsion unit.

It is another object of this invention to provide a jet propulsion unitfor boats in which such materials as sand, grit, silt and the like willeither be carried through the unit harmlessly or any elements whichconceivably could be fouled by such materials may be quickly and easilycleared thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a jet propulsionunit having a discharge nozzle which minimizes friction between waterbeing discharged and the sides of the discharge nozzle.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a mounting structurefor both theY engine and the propulsion unit whereby they are entirelysupported by a single element of the boat hull.

Other and further objects of the invention are those inherent andapparent in the apparatus as described, pictured and claimed.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this inventionthen comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out'in the claims, the following description setting forth indetail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed.

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings in whichcorresponding numerals refer to the same parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the entire unit withbroken lines illustrating adjusted positions of parts as well as hiddenparts;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the device with portions thereof brokenaway to illustrate construction more fully; broken lines illustratehidden and adjusted positions of parts; 1

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of the device in which broken linesillustrate hidden parts;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the device with portionsbroken away to illustrate the action of the deection damper; brokenlines illustrate hidden and adjusted positions of parts;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5--5 of FIGURE 1;broken lines illustrate hidden portions;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken along the line 6 6 of FIGURE l;broken lines illustrating hidden parts; FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary rearelevation with the discharge nozzle removed;

' FIGURE 8 is a horizontal section taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURElrwith broken lines illustrating hidden parts;

FIGURE 9 is a reduced side elevation of the unit and its driving enginesecured to the transom of a boat which is shown fragmentarily and insection; broken lines illustrate hidden parts; and

FIGURE l0 is a plan View of the engine shown in FIGURE 9 to illustratethe lateral disposition of the braces therefor.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URE l, the jet unitis seen to have a housing 20 which is divided into two portionsdesignated 20A and ZtiB. Within housing 20 are rigid vertical waterdirecting vanos 21 which direct water from intake 22 in a substantiallystraight path toward impeller 24. The horizontal vanes 25 are curveddownward at their outer ends order to divide water coming in throughintake 22 approximately evenly between the upper and lower halves of theimpeller entrance. At the rear of impeller 24 are the Water directingvaries 26 which take the water impelled by impeller 24 and straighten itfor a substantially straight thrust in the direction of the dischargenozzle assembly 27. Irnpeller 24 is rotatably supported within-thehousing 2i) on an impeller shaft 23. This shaft is made of any suitablematerial such as stainless steel having great strength as well asresistance to corrosion by water. The impeller shaft has a shoulder 29formed thereon against which central cone of impeller 24 abuts todetermine the forward position of impeller 24 on shaft 2S. The rear endof shaft 28 is reduced as at 31'so that a'nut 32. may be slid over itbefore the portion 26B of the housing is positioned and theV nuttightened on the threads 34 to hold impeller from rearward motion onshaft 28.`V Impeller 24 is secured against rotation will respect to theshaft 2S by suitable means such as the key 3S.` While the housing 2t) ismade from a strong lightweight alloy of aluminum and magnesium or othersuitable material, a wear ring 36 is pressed into the housing at thepoint where the forward end of the impeller cornes closest to it. Wearring 36 vmay be of any suitable material and a suggested one that hasbeen found practical is what is known as Creamery metal, it being analloy of nickel and brass which is reasonably hard and at the same timecorrosion resistant.

-ring 36 abut, as at 37, is such that the opening for water to pass intothe interior of the impeller 24 is slightly smaller than the opening ofthe impeller itself. For this reason, any material being carried withthe water will not get` between the impeller and the wear ring 36 but'instead Will be carried with the flow of water through the impeller andoutthe rear of the unit. It will also be seen 'as at 38 that there isclearance between kthe impeller and the housing members 26A and 29B toallow any materials which do get into this area to be carried onrearward by theflow of water.`

Shaft 28 is rotatably supported at the forward or transom end of housingportion 29A by means ,of suit- It will be seenV that the shoulder of theVhousing'portion 20A against which impeller 24and wear able bearing-s 39which are protected from water by vmeans Vof a packing nut 4G bearing onand providing a tight seal with the packing gland 41. A ring, as shownat 42, suitably secured by cap screws 44, holds the bearing inthe neckportion of housing portion 20A. Grease for bearing port 39 is providedvia a suitable grease fitting as seen at 46.

At 47 in FIGURE l isseen a fragmentary portion of the engine. It issecured to the transom 4S by means of a suitable mounting plate orflange 49 and bolts such as those disclosed at 50 and 51 extend throughboth the mounting flange 49 and appropriate flanges in portions ofhousing 20A as well asy the transom 48 to pull both of the mountinganges of the two portions of the entire structure tightly againsttransom 48; A 'sealing member or gasket such as that disclosed at 52 isprovided between the mounting ilangeof housing 20A and transom 4S. Asimilar seal or gasket is desirably positioned at 54 between mountingflange 49 of engine 47 and transom 4?. Within mounting flange 49 isformed the ring 55 which iits snugly neck portion 45 of housing portion20A'. Neckpo'rtion 45 is xedly'located with respect to the shaft 28 andthe drive shaft 56 is xedlyrlocated with respect to `collar portion 55.'These fixed shaft, collar and neck relations correspond so that theentrance of neck portion 45, including .the plate 42, into the collar55, causes the shaft 2S to align with the shaft 56.

A yielding joint of the type in which cooperating portions on the twoshafts interlace and are buffered with yielding, resilient material suchas rubber or the like is seen atv 57. While'the two shafts are alignedby the interaction of the neck. and collar structure, there may wellbesome movementof the engine with respect to the water jet unitparticularly in rough water or under high output conditions. For thisreason a yielding coupling is considered necessary at this point. Sincethe jet unit and the engine is close-coupled, however, it is notimperative to have a relatively complex universal joint at thisljuncture of the shafts.

Referring to FIGURES 9 and l0, the engine Y47 will be seen also to beprovided with the rigid braces 58 and 59 which extend from the engineblock, and are secured thereto with suitable cap lscrews as at 60 and61, to the transom 48 of the boat and` secured in any` suitable manneras by the bolts 62. Additional means for supporting the end of theengine spaced from the -transom 43 may he employed in the form of abracket 64 which is suitably secured as by the cap screws 65 to engineblock 47 and resting en the air supports or shocks 66.'` These in turnrest on the inside bottom of hull 67. Either of these means forsupporting the engine end spaced from the transom may be employedindividually or jointly, depending on the nature ofthe hull with whichthe structure is used and various other factors. As seen in FIG- URE l0the engine is braced laterally as well as vertically by the supportingstruts 53 and 59.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, shaft 28 at lits rear portion 31 isrotatably supported by the central cone 63 of the vane units 26. Oncethe shaft 2i; and impeller 24 are secured in the housing portion 20A,portion 20B may be fitted thereon by screwing together the threads shownat 69. A gasket, as at 70, will provide a seal for the two portions24M-2GB when the threads at 69 have been engaged suiciently to hold thetwo units together, yet` gasket will yield enough to permit continuedrotation of 29B until the assembly is properly arrangedV as to have thedischarge and control arrangement of the unit properly oriented tohousingportion 20A. When the two housing portions 20A-2GB are correctlyaligned, one or more set screws 7d are inserted and tightened topositively hold the two housing portions` in proper alignment. A tailcone piece 72 is press-'fitted into the cone portion 68 to both closeoff and protect the rear end of shaft 28 and also provide `a means forapplying a grease fitting 74 thereto by means of which grease is appliedto the bearing sur-face within cone 68 that supports the rearV end 31 ofshaft 28.`

A-t this point it is to be noted that the fonward end of cone 684 isslightly smaller than the rearend of cone Si) of the impeller. Asseen at75 the for-ward cone of the impeller over-hangs the cone of vanes 26 s-othat water is directed on the outside of cone 28 principally. Betweenthe two cones is a slight space as at 76 in which there is alwaysmaintained a slight pressure. At this point in housing 20B is a port 77into which an appropriate tube 78 shown in fragment connects and extendsto the water jacket of the engine. engine calls for cooling liquid, thepressure area 76 will cause water to flow through port 77 and tube 78 tocool the engine. Water which has been used for cooling is allowed tooverflow int-o the water in which the boat is operating, in the usualmanner. Other details of this structure are common `in usage andtherefore not shown in detail. Y

At Vthe rear` of housing 20B is formed'a socket portion 79 into whichthe control discharge nozzle 27 is inserted. A tapered ring 80 providesa close it' to the ball portion of discharge Ynozzile 27; The'ring 80and ball 27Y are simultaneously pushed into the housing 29B. They are avery tight slip fit, -Once these units are properly positioned withinthe housing 26B, the pin units 81 are inserted which extend throughboththe ring and the nozzle 27; Stub shaft portions 82 serve asthe pivotpoints for the discharge nozzle 27. VThus discharge nozzle 27 is pivotedabout a vertical axis formed by the stub shafts 82` sothat it-can swingto the right or left as disclosed by the broken lines in-FIGURE 2. VanesS3 in nozzle 27 both stilfen the ball .portion of nozzle 27 and aid Iinreducing turbulence of the `water flowing through the unit.

The discharge nozzle is provided with a main discharge port 84which'enlarges from the smallest portion of the passageway for water asat 85 to the actual exhaust open- Whenever the thermostat of theV ing 86of the unit. Pivoted within this enlarging discharge portion of nozzle27 is a deflection plate 87. Yoke structure 88 is journalled in thesides of the nozzle and supports the plate in any of the variouspositions to which it may be pivoted by means of the yoke 88. As shownin FIGUTRES 1 and 2, as well as in FIGURE 8, the ends of yoke 88 thatembrace the deflection plate 87 are only slightly engaged with the plateitself so that the area between the two ends of the yoke that grip thedeflection plate is nearly as great as the reduced opening 85 of thedischarge nozzle. Because the discharge nozzle flares or enlarges fromits most restricted point S5, to the actual point of discharge of thejet from the unit, the walls of the aring portion 84 of the jet do nothave any substantial contact with the water being expelled throughd-ischarge port 85.

At the bottom of .the discharge portion S4 is the reverse port 89.Reverse port 89 not only serves to discharge water in a forwardlydirection when the power of the unit is used to reverse the boat, italso acts as an air intake when the boat is thrusting forward as wouldbe the case when the deect-ion plate S7 is positioned as shown inFIGURE 1. At this time the jet unit is largely raised out of the wateras the boat planes on the bottom 67 of its hull. Air is thereforeallowed to enter through port 89 and in doing so it mixes with the waterbeing discharged through discharge port 86 and produces an aeration orbubbling action similar-to bubbling or non-splashing faucets which arecommon. 'I'his bubbling action also serves to prevent any substantialskin friction or liquidnozzle friction Vafter the water passes thenarrow point 85 of the discharge nozzle 27.

Yoke 88 may he moved forward and backward by any suitable means `such asthe heavy Bowden wire 90 having the usual casing 9.1. When the plate 87is positioned as shown in FIGURE l, all o'f the power of the jet isdirected straight rearward for the greatest forward thrust. As theBowden wire 90 extends forward to a suitable control adjacent to theoperator of the vehicle, he can, by appropriately positioning hiscontrol lever, move plate 87 to the position shown in broken lines inFIGURE 1, in order to deflect at least some of the water beingdischarged upwardly. This deflection of the water being dischargedthrough the jet tends to thrust the rear of the jet unit down and thenose of the boat up, which is of assistance in getting the boat up intoa planing position on top of the water. As shown in FIGURE 4, this samecontrol may be moved to the extreme rearward position as shown in solidlines in that figure, which deects substantially all of the water beingdischarged through restn'cted area 85 out through the reverse port 89.In this position of plate 37, the entireV thrust of the engine is beingapplied to move the boat backward through the water.

The broken line position, shown in FIGURE 4, is one in which water beingdischarged straight rearwardly and through reverse port 89 is divided.By this dividing of the thrust from the jet, a neutral position may belocated at which the rearward thrust and the forward thrust aresubstantially balanced and this produces no movement of the boatregardless of the power being exerted by the engine. The broken lineposition in FIGURE 4 is approximately a neutral position. It will beseen, therefore, that the deflection plate 87 may be used to direct allof the thrust of the engine selectively through the discharge port 86 orthe Vreverse .port 89 at will. Furthermore, the water being dischargedthrough these ports may be divided proportionately in order to producevery controlled forward and backward motion as when maneuvering up to adock or the like.

As shown in FIGURES 1, 4 and 8, the deection plate 87 s entirelycontained within nozzle portion 84. For this reason, regardless of thedirection in which water is being deflected, it is always being employedusefully and not merely spraying out into the air in a useless or evenlso .peller 24 rotates counter-clockwise.

annoying manner as to throw water on the' occupants of the craft beingypowered by the jet unit.

As shown in FIGURE 3, yoke 88V is divided into two portion-s andsuitably clamped together as by the bolt assembly units 92. For thisreason, the yoke may be disassembled and removed from the portion 84 ofthe discharge nozzle 27 in order to remove the deflection plate 87 forservice or repair. As shown in FIGURE 8, the deflection plate isprovided with the notches 94 and the ends of the yoke portions arebifurcated so as to embrace the top and bottom `of the plate. Thus thebifurcated ends of the yoke portions retain the plate on its top andbottom while the engagement of the yoke portion with the notches 94causes -the plate to be retained in a forward and backward directionwith the yoke. This structure has been found extremely trouble free, andif trouble should develop, the disassembly of the yoke by removing thebolts 92 makes it possible to repair any difficulty quickly and easily.Any suitable superstructure housing, as shown at 93, is used to bothprotect and lend an attractive appearance to the Bowden cable structure-91. This housing may be any suitable casting, stamping or extrusionthat is secured to the outside of the housings 20A and 20B.

As shown in FIGURE 2, steering is controlled by suitable means such asthe cables 95 which are secured to the pierced ears 96 thatA are at theouter end of the discharge nozzle 277. For this reason cables 95 haveexcellent leverage in pulling the discharge nozzle either to the rightor left. When one cable is pulled, Ythe other is automatically releasedin the commonly understood manner by having them Isecured to a steeringwheel drum or other similar mechanism. When one of the cables istightened and the other loosened, discharge nozzlef27 pivots about thepoints 82. Suitable housings such as extrusions 97 are used to encasethe'cables 95 on the exterior of housings 20A and 20B. As shown inFIGURE 9, these extrusions are suitably secured to the housings bysuitable means such as cap screws 98 and serve in addition to set screws71 to hold the portions A20A and 20B of housing 20 in proper alignmentwith the axis of pivoting of dischargeV nozzle 27 in a vertical plane.Cables 95 may be provided at the transom of the boat with any suitablesort of water seal and one suggested -form is an accordion pleatedrubber sleeve arrangement that can be tightly secured to both thetransom and the cable and yet yield suciently to provide steering. Inthis manner, water is prevented from gaining access to the interior ofthe boat, yet the housings 97 are left open at their rear ends in orderto achieve drainage whenever water does enter these housings.

l In FIGURE 2 also is shown the grille 99, the purpose of which is tolimit the size objects entering intake 22. When a grille such as thatshown at 99 is used over intake l 22, any object that is small enough toenter the intake 22 lis small enough to be pumped directly through thejet and exhausted through exhaust port 86. As seen in FIG- URE 3,housing 93 has sufficient flare at its rear end to permit the Bowdencable 90 to yield laterally in either` direction as discharge nozzle 27is turned.

Referring to FIGURE 5, impeller 24 will be seen to have vanes in it thatare slanted after the manner of a propeller blade as well as beingangled radially from a position near the shaft 28 at the entrance to theimpeller to an exit portion more widely spaced from the shaft. For thisreason impeller 24 not only exerts axial thrust after the manner of awater screw, but also throws the water out its discharge port withconsiderable force as a centrifugal pump. As shown in FIGURE 5, the im-This dual radial and exial thrust imparted Ito the water being thrown bylmpeller 24 produces an extremely high volume as well as substantialforce pump. By comparing FIGURES 6 and 7, vanes 26 will be seen to slantat their ends nearest to impeller 24 in the opposite direction to thedirection of slant of the impeller blade. In this manner the water thatis given some rotating or torque action,.as the result of the rotaryaction of the impeller, tends to have its rotary motion' counteractedand straightened Vout. FIGURE 7, which is a view looking at the vanes Z6from -the discharge nozzle end thereof, shows that they have rearportions which extend in a straight line with respect to the length ofthe unit thereby discharging the water in an almost straight streamtoward the discharge nozzle 27. As a result of the interaction of theimpeller and vanes 2e, very little of the torque action of the unitis'felt in the operation of the boat itself.

It is apparent that manymoditications and variations of this inventionas hereinbefore vset forth may be made without departing from the spiritandrscope thereof. The

lspecific embodiments described are given by way of vex ample only andthe inventionwis limited only by the terms of the appended claims. Whatis claimed is:

1. `A waterjet propulsion unit comprising a housing, an impellerrotatably mounted in said housing, a socket portion in said housing tothe rear ofl said impeller, a'discharge nozzle pivotally mounted on avertical axis in said socket, a discharge port in the rear of saiddischarge nozzle, a reverse port near said discharge port, and adeflection damper pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis within saiddischarge nozzle port area Lwhereby Water being discharged through saiddischarge. .nozzle may be deflected through said discharge and reverseports selectively and proportionately at will, said deection damperincluding a plate notched at its sides and a split yoke journalled insaid discha-rge nozzle and having bifurcated ends engaging A`the notchesin said deflection damper plate. y

2. Thercombination of claim 1 ingwhichthe narrowest part of saiddischarge nozzle is in front of said split yoke and the ends of thesplit yoke when engaged with said plateare spaced a distance equal tothe inside di# ameter of the smallest partV of said discharge nozzle.

3. In combination with a boat transom, an engine havling a crank shaft,a mounting flange on saidV engine, a Iwater jet propulsion unit havingan impeller shaft, mounting means cooperating with the mounting flangeofV said engine and being adapted to support said water jet propulsionunitV entirely outside said transom, said water; jet propulsion unitcomprising a housing, and an impeller secured to said impeller shaftwithin said housing, a plurality Vof water directingV vanesk inside saidhousing both in front of and behind said impellera socketA portion inSaid housing behind the vanes to the rear of said impeller, a discha-rgenozzle pivotally mounted on a vertical axis in said socket, saiddischarge nozzle hav-ing aforward converging portion and a rearwarddiverging portion, a discharge port at therear of said divergingportion, a reverse port near said discharge port, and a deection damperpivotally mounted on a horizontal axis entirely within said divergingportion ofl saidV discharge -nozzle whereby water discharged throughsaid dischargel nozzle may be deflected throughrsaid discharge andreverse ports selectively and proportionately at will, means forpivoting saidvdisharge nozzle independently of the action of saiddellection damper, and means in addition to said mounting flange forsupporting the portion of said engine spaced from said transom. n

4.V The combination of claim 3 in which the mounting flange of saidengine has a collar formed therein and said mounting means includes aneck formed thereon that slidably sits snugly Within said collar of saidmounting flange of said engine.

5. A water jet propulsion unit adapted to be mounted outside a boattransom comprising a housing, an impeller rotatably mounted in saidhousing, a plurality of xed water directing vanes inside said housingand both in front of and behind said impeller, a socket portionin saidhousing behind the vanes to the rear of said impeller, a dischargenozzle pivotally mounted on a vertical axis in said socket, saiddischarge nozzle having a forward converging section and a rearwarddiverging section, a discharge port atthe rear of said discharge nozzle,a reverse port formed in said discharge nozzle near said discharge port,and a deflection damper pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis entirelywithin the dive-rging section of said discharge nozzle whereby waterbeing discharged through said discharge nozzle may be deflected propor.tionately and exclusively through said Adischarge andv reverse ports,and means for pivoting said discharge nozzle independently of the actionof said deflection damper;

6. A water jet propulsion unit being adapted to be mounted entirelyonthe outside of a boat transom comprising a housing, an impellerrotatably mountedV in said housing, a discharge nozzle secured to saidhousing and including a forward converging section. and a rearwarddiverging section, a discharge port at the rear of said `dive-rgingsection, a reverse port formed in said discharge nozzle near saiddischarge port, and a deflection damper pivotally mounted intermediateits ends on a horizontal axis entirely within said diverging section ofsaid discharge nozzle ywhereby water being discharged through saiddischarge nozzle is deflected proportionately, selectively andexclusively through said discharge and .reverse ports.

ReferencesCited by the Examiner Y UNITED. STATES PATENTS 343,769 6/86Levi 277--100 1,554,591` 9/25 Oliver 103-90 t 1,765,789 V6/30V Ditchburn11S-4l 2,024,274 12/35 Campini 115-14 2,446,942 8748 McFarland 11S-342,681,029 6/54 Canazzi 115-41 2,702,516 2/55 Tinker 115-16 3,007,3051,1/61 Hamilton 115-14 3,083,679 4/ 63 Conover 115-34 MILTON BUCHLER,Primary Examiner.

ANDREW H. FARRELL, Examiner.

1. A WATER JET PROPULSION UNIT COMPRISING A HOUSING, AN IMPELLERROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING, A SOCKET PORTION IN SAID HOUSING TOTHE REAR OF SAID IMPELLER, A DISCHARGE NOZZLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON AVERTICAL AXIS IN SAID SOCKET, A DISCHARGE PORT IN THE REAR OF SAIDDISCHARGE NOZZLE, A REVERSE PORT NEAR SAID DISCHARGE PORT, AND ADEFLECTION DAMPER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A HORIZONTAL AXIS WITHIN SAIDDISCHARGE NOZZLE PORT AREA WHEREBY WATER BEING DISCHARGED THROUGH SAIDDISCHARGE NOZZLE MAY BE DEFLECTED THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE AND REVERSEPORTS SELECTIVELY AND PROPORTIONATELY AT WILL, SAID DEFLECTION DAMPERINCLUDING A PLATE NOTCHED AT ITS SIDES AND A SPLIT YOKE JOURNALED INSAID DISCHARGE NOZZLE AND HAVING BIFURCATED ENDS ENGAGING THE NOTCHES INSAID DEFLECTION DAMPER PLATE.